Cursed Fate
by WhipQueen
Summary: AU: Sasuke was captured by Orochimaru and forced to do his bidding. His most recent mission is to capture several people and bring them to him, but Sasuke finds himself unwilling to subject them to the same fate. M for possible Lemons.
1. Chapter 1: Trapped

**Hey all! WhipQueen here with my first fanfic ever! I've had plenty of fanfic ideas, but have never decided to put my pen to paper until now. This fic draws inspiration from Outcasts by Nightshadow Dweller, which was the first fanfic I really enjoyed. There may be some similarities, but the stories are pretty different. Feel free to offer some good criticism since this is the first story I am publishing. Hope you guys enjoy it! Also sorry for the format, this was posted using mobile.**

Footsteps clacked against the dimly lit stone hallway. Sasuke sat on his bed sharpening the kunai blade he held in hand. As the steps grew near his bedroom door he stopped sharpening the blade. He twirled the blade in his hand, watching as the candlelight reflected off it. He tossed it in the air and caught it in his hand a few times, testing its weight. Then the bedroom door opened. Sasuke caught the blade in his hand and immediately launched it at the man standing in his doorway. Of course, the man caught the blade with ease, without so much as flinching. Sasuke clicked his teeth with slight irritation and the man chuckled.

"Sasuke..." the man called out to Sasuke in a mocking tone. "You'll never be able to kill me like that. You have to put at least a little effort in." Sasuke shot him a death glare, but the man ignored him. "What do you want, Kabuto?" Sasuke asked after a moment of silence. Kabuto pushed his glasses a little further up the bridge of his nose and held up a manila-colored folder. He then stepped into the room and placed the folder on the small desk in the corner.

"Lord Orochimaru has a new mission for you. It seems this one will take quite a while for you to complete..." Kabuto paused for a moment before speaking again. "Try to enjoy the fresh air while you can." He said, giving him a fake smile. Sasuke clenched his fists and glared daggers at the ground as Kabuto walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

In less than a second, Sasuke was up, slamming his foot angrily against the door. Sasuke hated Kabuto. He lived to irritate Sasuke, knowing full well that if he actually put any effort into trying to kill him or Orochimaru he'd be forced into submission by his damned curse mark. Sasuke reached up and gripped his left shoulder tightly. This cursed mark was the only thing keeping him imprisoned here.

On the day Sasuke was captured, Orochimaru made clear that he was selected because of his Uchiha blood. Something that had once given him so much pride had turned into the very cause of his pain and suffering. Orochimaru captured him and forced Sasuke to do his bidding. He trained night and day for years before he was finally sent out on missions, though, he always had to come back. These missions were essentially Sasuke's only chance of getting outside despite how short the opportunities could be, but Sasuke appreciated them nonetheless.

Sasuke let out a long sigh, giving himself several minutes to calm down before he walked up to his desk. He flipped open the folder and and saw only two items inside: a letter written by Orochimaru and a small black notebook. Sasuke picked up the letter and read it:

_ Your mission is to collect the people contained in the bingo book provided. You are not to kill any of the targets. Capture them alive and bring them to me using any means necessary._

Sasuke was quite curious about the details of this mission. Typically, Orochimaru would simply have him assassinate any people who might possibly interfere with his work. He was never once asked to bring someone in. That was usually Kabuto's job. Something about it didn't sit well with Sasuke. Given his own situation, Sasuke wasn't really comfortable with the idea of putting someone else into Orochimaru's clutches. Sasuke gripped his shoulder again. But... he didn't really have a choice on the matter. If he denied the mission, Orochimaru would likely put him through days of suffering or possibly even kill him. Sasuke sighed and held the letter over the candle, letting the fire consume it until it was ash.

Sasuke picked up the bingo book and shoved it into his pocket. He stepped out of his bedroom, locked the door behind him, and walked through the maze of hallways towards the exit. In the hallway near the exit was a large supply room where Sasuke could stock up for missions. He grabbed a black cloak, a katana, and a weapons holster, filling it with several tools and weapons. He also grabbed several vials of tranquilizer, but before he slipped them into his bag he stood there for a moment staring at the vials. He questioned if he could really bring himself to deliver these people to Orochimaru. Though, before he could reach an answer, a snake-like voice began to speak.

"Sasuke." The person in question, Orochimaru, stood at the door. Sasuke glanced at him sideways. "What do you want?" He asked, slipping the vials into the pack. Orochimaru entered the supply room and walked around to the opposite side of the table Sasuke was currently gathering his things at. "Nothing. I'm just here to issue a warning is all." He explained calmly. "Some of the targets in that bingo book could likely give you some trouble. Typically, I would assign this mission to Kabuto, but I've sent him on another mission with the sound four. If any of the targets give you any trouble, feel free to take them to one of my other compounds and contact me. I'll pick them up myself." Orochimaru explained with a tinge of darkness in his voice. Sasuke strapped the holster to his leg, strapped his katana to his back, and tied his cloak around his neck. "I'll be fine." He replied curtly before turning his back to him and leaving the room.

Sasuke didn't like the way Orochimaru was acting. Orochimaru always has some plan in the works, but Orochimaru was smart enough to never divulge too many details to him. It frustrated him. There was almost no opportunity to make an escape, but this time was different. This mission could likely give Sasuke quite a bit of time to come up with a plan to take down Orochimaru. That was the only way to rid himself of the cursed mark once and for all.

Once Sasuke reached the exit of the compound, he headed straight into the surrounding forest and got as far away as he could before he even considered opening his bingo book.


	2. Chapter 2: Morals

Sasuke let the wind blow through his hair as he jumped from branch to branch. He couldn't understand how Orochimaru and his goons could stand to remain in those stuffy underground compounds for so long. He stretched his muscles and cracked a few bones too, relieving as much stress as he could after being cooped up for several days. He was honestly surprised Orochimaru sent him out on another mission so soon after his last. He must've been making moves towards his next plan or something, but Sasuke decided not to dwell too much on the idea, knowing it would ruin his mood.

Before long, Sasuke stopped traveling when he reached a lake a good distance away from the compound. He jumped to the ground and walked up the edge. He splashed some water on his face and ran some of it through his hair in an attempt to cool off. He then took a seat on the ground and pulled the bingo book from his pocket.

Part of Sasuke prayed to the heavens that his targets were some horrible criminals, that way he wouldn't feel as bad if he brought them in. They might even be more willing to join him if he told them why he was after them. However, that could also mean they'd be less willing to follow him. Sasuke had more or less determined the kind of guy Orochimaru was thanks to the information he gathered during his previous missions. The guy was a rogue ninja from the village hidden in the leaves. He'd betrayed his duties and abandoned the village after stealing several important secrets. Sasuke himself had never been to the village. The Uchiha clan had separated itself from the village due to some political disputes long before he was born, however, they apparently still kept its police force established there. His older brother Itachi worked there.

Sasuke stopped his thoughts short. He didn't like to think about his family. He hadn't seen them in years and they were likely unable to find him since Orochimaru was too good at hiding his tracks. Sasuke's missions never lasted long enough to give him enough time to try and search for them. But his memories were enough to keep him going.

Sasuke then flipped the bingo book open to the first page. There was a picture of a spiky-haired blonde boy with blue eyes. The name underneath the picture was _Naruto Uzumaki_. Underneath the name was the word _dangerous _in red bolded letters. Sasuke looked over the picture. The guy didn't look much younger than him, he looked fairly harmless actually. The boy had a bright, goofy smile on his face. He flipped to the next page which contained his basic information, and Sasuke determined he was correct. The guy was, in fact, the same age as him: _16_. This fact made Sasuke sigh. Going after someone his own age was not something he was looking forward to, however, his classification as dangerous gave him some hope. Maybe the guy was psychotic or something.

Sasuke flipped to the third page. It was a picture of a girl this time. She had light pink hair and emerald green eyes. Her name was _Sakura Haruno_. Age:_16_.

Classification: _harmless_.

"Shit..." Sasuke muttered silently to himself. That was was a punch to the gut. For Sasuke, this mission was no longer a simple capture and return mission. Sasuke himself was a member of the Uchiha clan, one of the most prestigious clans out there. He wasn't exactly harmless to say the least, but he still struggled with the cursed mark placed on him. Putting a harmless girl in front Orochimaru was not something he could stomach. Not after what he went through. Sasuke sighed, running through the possibilities in his head. Sasuke had suffered several times at the hands of Orochimaru. Maybe he wouldn't be as harsh on him if he failed to grab only one of the targets?

Unlikely, but possible.

Sasuke flipped through the rest of the targets: _Konohamaru Sarutobi_, _Hinata Hyuga_, and _Gaara. _Sasuke was internally murdering himself now. Only two of the targets were classified as _dangerous_. One was classified as _neutral,_ meaning they could at least put up some sort of a fight. The last two targets were classified _harmless_, and one of them was a little kid.

It was at that moment that Sasuke felt a sharp, burning pain from his left shoulder. He dropped the book in his hands and gripped his shoulder tightly. Sasuke lunged forward on his hands and knees and began to sweat a little as he was forced to endure the pain emminating from the cursed mark, now glowing due to the chakra stored inside being activated.

After a few minutes the pain began to subside. "Damn that Orochimaru..." Sasuke groaned out between clenched teeth. "He's probably assumed I'd be unwilling to complete this mission... meaning he'll probably active the mark at random times..." This method of discipline wasn't new to Sasuke. Orochimaru used it frequently around the time Sasuke was first captured. Unfortunately it was a decent method for 12-year old Sasuke.

Unfortunately for Orochimaru, it was not a good method for a morally torn, 16-year old Sasuke, who had matured quite a bit since then.

Once Sasuke caught his breathe, he picked up the bingo book and slid it back into his pocket. He moved back over to the lake and washed the sweat from his face. He then stood up and stared at the lake for a moment before he set off in the direction of a nearby village. He had to come up with a plan to escape Orochimaru once and for all. This might be his last opportunity too.


	3. Chapter 3: Planning

After several hours of traveling, Sasuke came up upon a small village a decent distance from the compound. He always stopped here for a good meal. It was a good change of pace from the trash he was usually served. Sasuke looked around for a bit before picking a small tea shop. He sat down on one of the outside benches and ordered some green tea and red bean buns. While he waited, he pulled out his bingo book and flipped through the targets once again.

Surprisingly, most of the targets all lived in the same location: the leaf village. Although, this made Sasuke somewhat wary. Orochimaru had to have known that some of his clansman lived in that village. Sasuke pondered this for quite a while. If he approached the Uchiha police station he could prove himself to be an Uchiha simply by showing his sharingan, and if he explained his situation he could easily get assistance from several powerful ninja, possibly even more given Orochimaru's history with the village. However, returning to the compound and attempting a surprise attack would likely fail. Orochimaru would be expecting a reckless plan like that, as hinted by the cursed mark activation earlier. In fact, Orochimaru might even be expecting a well calculated attack as well. The snake was cunning and smart. Sasuke had to think of the best way to handle the situation without letting Orochimaru on.

Sasuke couldn't cause a commotion. He had to find people he could trust. People who had connections. With those connections, he could reveal small tips that wouldn't obviously lead back to him. And with those tips, the leaf village could make moves against Orochimaru without him getting involved. The one person Sasuke could think of was his older brother, Itachi.

Sasuke remembered his brother well. He was a high ranking officer at one point, and was looking to join the ANBU Black Ops of the leaf village. Unfortunately before that could happen, Sasuke had been kidnapped. That might've thrown a wrench in those plans, but it was the best bet Sasuke had.

Sasuke took a sip of the tea that had been brought to his table while he was deep in thought. The major issue would be Sasuke's targets. Considering Orochimaru clearly didn't trust him with this mission, he was likely to send Kabuto or some other goon to check his progress. As a result, if it was discovered that Sasuke abandoned the mission, Orochimaru could kill him without even being nearby. Kabuto could also take the targets in on his own, thus ruining the reason Sasuke was attempting to defect and save them in the first place.

Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh and tossed the book onto the table next to his plate. He took a bite of one of the red bean buns. The only way he could get through this mission would be to "capture" his targets. He'd have to approach random strangers and somehow convince them, for their own safety, to leave the village and go on the run with him. Like that would ever work.

Sasuke let out a pitiful huff of a laugh. He would end up getting reported and taken into custody before he could even bother to say a single word to any of the targets. Sasuke had some suspicions that several of them may be more important than some random ninja from the village. But at this point there was no other option. Sasuke was tired of sitting around and playing the waiting game. It was time to make some moves.

He finished up his breakfast and left his money for his meal on the plate. He grabbed the bingo book and shoved it into his pocket. As he made for the village exit, Sasuke stopped by a small shop and spotted some brochures. Hoping to find a map, Sasuke searched through them and found what he was looking for. He quickly glanced over it, noting how far he was from both the leaf village and the sand village. The leaf village was closer.

Sasuke made a mental note of the general direction he needed to go in, and put the map back with the rest of the brochures. The leaf village was actually a pretty long distance from the small village he was currently in. Sasuke estimated it would take him about a week if he was traveling at a consistent speed, and luckily there were several other small villages on the way, so he wouldn't have to worry about bandits attacking him in the middle of the night. The village hidden in the sand would take even longer. It was surrounded by desserts that suffered from frequent sandstorms.

Sasuke had left the small village, now making his way through the forest again. He'd never been to the leaf village, so he had no idea what the security was like. He needed to gather some information from the smaller villages on the way. From there he needed to determine where the police station was and where his targets resided, though he knew no one would tell a random stranger the specific address of a person, even if they knew them.

At that moment, Sasuke realized why Kabuto mentioned it would be a longer mission. Sasuke couldn't imagine the great leaf village was anything less than a massive city. Itachi told him stories of how big the village was, but he'd long forgotten about them. Orochimaru knew this as well, which was why he activated the curse mark. To keep Sasuke from straying to far from the objective. Orochimaru wanted him back as soon a possible. Sasuke smirked at the concept. It would be a painful journey, but he planned to make Orochimaru wait as long as he could.


End file.
